Dr. Christa Nater
Social & Organizational Psychologist
Research
Stereotypes
Gender stereotypes are widely shared beliefs about the typical attributes of women and men, which affect how people perceive and react to individual women and men. They thus can limit individuals' possibilities in counter-stereotypical roles and domains, such as women in masculine leadership roles or men in early childcare and education. My research seeks to understand how the positioning of women and men in the social structures of society informs gender stereotypes.
Nater, C., Miller, D., Eagly A. H., & Sczesny, S. (minor revision). Gender stereotypes across nations correspond to women’s and men’s social roles and status: Evidence from public opinion polls of many nations in 1995 and 2023. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.​
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Schmader, T. & Nater, C. (2025). Gender. In D. T. Gilbert, S. T. Fiske, E. J. Finkel, & W. B. Mendes (Eds.), The handbook of social psychology (6th ed). Situational Press. https://doi.org/10.70400/AKXO6205 (PDF)​
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Sczesny, S.*, Nater, C.*, Rudman, L., Lohmore, A., Malayeri, S., Sakallı, N., Saxler, F., & Gustafsson Sendén, M. (2025). How women and men should (not) be: Gender rules and their alignment with status beliefs in seven nations. Psychology of Women Quarterly. https://doi.org/10.1177/03616843251328263 (PDF)
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Nater, C., & Eagly, A. H. (2025). The fragility of scientific knowledge: A case study of miscitation of findings on gender stereotypes​​. Sex Roles, 91, 21. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11199-025-01561-x (PDF)
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Eagly, A. H., Nater, C., Miller, D., Kaufmann, M., & Sczesny, S. (2020). Gender stereotypes have changed: A cross-temporal meta-analysis of U.S. public opinion polls from 1946-2018. American Psychologist, 75, 301-315. https://doi.org/10.1037/amp0000494 (PDF)​
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Sczesny, S., Nater, C., & Eagly, A. H. (2019). Agency and communion: Their implications for gender stereotypes and gender identities. In A. E. Abele & B. Wojciszke (Eds.), Current Issues in Social Psychology: Agency and Communion in Social Psychology (pp. 103-116). New York, NY: Routledge. (PDF)​​​
Women in leadership and STEM
Women make up only 8% of CEOs in large companies (i.e., S&P 500; Catalyst, 2023). Yet, occupational segregation is known to hinder the inclusion of talented people, curtail economic growth, and thwart the achievement of the UN Sustainable Development Goals (World Economic Forum, 2020). My research examines gender diversity interventions, such as women quotas, to understand (unintended) consequences for both women and men striving for leadership and positions in STEM domains.
Zehnter, M., & Nater, C. (2025). Beyond being beneficiaries: Two mechanisms explain women’s more favorable explicit and implicit attitudes toward women quotas. European Journal of Social Psychology, 55, 1-16. https://doi.org/10.1002/ejsp.3113 (PDF)
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Nater, C., Eagly, A. H., Heilman, M. E., Messerli-Bürgy, N., & Sczesny, S. (2024). Emphasizing the communal demands of a leader role makes job interviews less stressful for women but not more successful. Sex Roles, 90, 1506-1520.​ https://doi.org/10.1007/s11199-024-01509-7 (PDF)
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Nater, C., Heilman, M. E., & Sczesny, S. (2023). Footsteps I would like to follow? How gender quotas affect the acceptance of women leaders as role models and inspirations for leadership. European Journal of Social Psychology, 53, 129-146. https://doi.org/10.1002/ejsp.2892 (PDF)​
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​​Nater, C., & Sczesny, S. (2016). Affirmative action policies in job advertisements for leadership positions: How they affect women’s and men’s inclination to apply. European Journal of Social Psychology, 46, 891-902. https://doi.org/10.1002/ejsp.2200 (PDF)​​
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Nater, C., Schmader, T., Koyama, J., Hall W. (under review). Inclusive cultures in STEM free women (and men): Implications for dominant leadership, career constraints, and students’ grades. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology
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Plückelmann, C., Nater, C., & Sczesny, S. (under review). Lean in? When women—more than men—hesitate to apply for leadership positions unless they meet all job requirements. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes.
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Moor, J., Woodtli, L., Baumgartner, C., Kublickiene, K., Streit, S., Nater, C. (under review). Factors associated with career ambitions in general internal medicine: Insights into gender disparities in leadership aspirations. JAMA Internal Medicine Open.
Egger, I., Nater, C., Baumgartner, C., Streit, S., Moor, J. (under review). Sex differences in personal and work-related factors associated with impaired well-being among Swiss General Internal Medicine physicians. European Journal of Internal Medicine
Wassner, O., Nater, C., Barbier, J. M., Streit, S., Moor, J. (under review). The prevalence of sexual harassment in Internal Medicine in Switzerland. JAMA Internal Medicine Open.
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Men in care-oriented careers
Less than 4% of early childcare educators are men (OECD, 2021). An increased representation of men in healthcare, early education and domestic (HEED) careers would greatly benefit men, women, and society at large. For many men, disengagement with communal roles begins in childhood and continues into adulthood, constraining boys’ career preferences and men’s occupational choices. In this line of research, I identify obstacles to men’s engagement and lay out evidence-based recommendations for encouraging greater gender diversity in care-oriented careers.
Haines, S., Nater, C., & Sczesny, S. (2024). Creating a system that cares: A PRISMA review and road map to increase men’s representation in early childhood education and care. Psychology of Men and Masculinities, 25, 451-465. https://doi.org/10.1037/men0000486 (PDF)​
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Sczesny, S., Nater, C., & Haines, S. (2021). Perceived to be incompetent, but not a risk: Why men are evaluated as less suitable for childcare work than women. Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 52, 693-703. https://doi.org/10.1111/jasp.12845 (PDF)​​​​
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Haines, S. , Hegarty, P., Nater, C., Sczesny, S., & Graf, S. (under review) More interested than they think: Pluralistic ignorance, sexual orientation and men’s perceptions of childcare work. Journal of Applied Social Psychology.
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Nater, C., & Sczesny, S. (in prep.). Why are qualified men more confident to apply for care positions than women.
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Broad Societal Issues
Gender equality benefits people's well-being and drives economic growth (Fluchtmann et al., 2024). Despite this, gender inequality and misogyny remain deeply embedded within institutional structures, including labor market regulations, educational systems, legal frameworks, and political institutions (Risman, 2018). These structural barriers perpetuate unequal outcomes and have wide-ranging effects on intergroup relations, social interactions, individuals' life opportunities, and the reproduction of societal hierarchies and power dynamics (EIGE, 2021).
​​​​Nater, C., Felber, L., Lücke, R., Eagly, A. H., Miller, D. I., Greitemeyer, T., & Dorrough, A. R. (2nd round revise and resubmit). Exposure to misogynous media relates to greater hostility toward women: A meta-analysis of 227 studies. Psychological Bulletin.​
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Malayeri, S., Nater, C., Krahé, B., Vandello, J., & Sczesny, S. (accepted). Is she a good Muslima: The impact of Hijab (head covering) on Muslims’ evaluation of a rape incident. Journal of Interpersonal Violence.
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Malayeri, S., Nater, C., Krahé, B., Vandello, J., & Sczesny, S. (2024). Married or on a date: Cultural norms and gender differences in rape perception in an Iranian sample. Journal of Sexual Aggression. https://doi.org/10.1080/13552600.2024.2418102 (PDF)
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Malayeri, S., Nater, C., Krahé, B., Sczesny, S. (2022). Sexual aggression among women and men in an Iranian sample: Prevalence and correlates. Sex Roles, 87, 139-153. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11199-022-01312-2 (PDF)
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Nater, C., & Zell, E. (2015). Accuracy of social perception: An integration and review of meta-analyses. Social and Personality Psychology Compass, 9, 481-494. https://doi.org/10.1111/spc3.12194 (PDF)​
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